Intelligence
CH. 9 INTELLIGENCE AND TESTING
THIS IS 5 -7% OF THE AP EXAM
What is intelligence?
Intelligence
Definition:
 Capacity to acquire and
use knowledge
 This is difficult to
measure
 Only an indirect
measure (much like
learning)
All healthy people possess the cognitive
apparatus for acquiring and using
information, but we can only estimate
capacity based on knowledge acquired
So, the question is
DO PEOPLE COME INTO THE
WORLD WITH IDENTICAL
CAPACITIES THAT DEVELOP
DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING ON
THEIR BACKGROUND,
EXPERIENCE AND MOTIVATION
OR ARE PEOPLE BORN WITH
DIFFERENT INTELLECTUAL
CAPACITIES?
Early Studies in Intelligence
 Sir Francis Galton
 Cousin of Charles Darwin
 Pioneered studies in
“variations in human
abilities”
 Individual difference
can and should be
measured
 Coined the terms of
eugenics and nature vs.
nurture
Sir Francis Galton
 Use of questionnaires
 Instigated nature vs. nurture debate
 Pioneered word association test
 Developed the correlation technique
 Used twins studies to explore inherited traits
 A brief biography on Sir Francis Galton has been
provided.
A reminder from previously learned definitions:
 What is crystallized
intelligence?
 What is fluid
intelligence?
 Which of these show
change during late
adulthood?
A reminder from previously learned definitions:
 Crystallized Intelligence- one’s accumulated
knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with
age
 Fluid Intelligence-one’s ability to reason speedily
and abstractly; tends to decrease during late
adulthood
Theories of Intelligence can be divided into
three basic categories of abilities, cognitive and
contextual theories
Abilities Theories
 View intelligence in
terms of a
collection of
abilities that can be
measured and serve
as a basis of
individual
differences
 Spearman’s General
Intelligence Theory
 Thurstone’s Primary
Mental Abilities
 Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligences
 Guilford Three-Factor
Structure of the Intellect
Abilities Theories
 Charles Spearman argues
that all activities share
one common factor
called



General Intelligence (g)
Additional specific
abilities (s)
Most people’s
understanding of
intelligence is based on
Spearman’s ideas
Abilities Theories
 L. L. Thurstone argued that
there is a small set of 6 or 7
primary mental abilities or
factors that make up the
concept of intelligence
 Verbal comprehension
 Word fluency
 Number ability
 Spatial ability
 Associative memory
 Perceptual speed
 General reasoning ability
Abilities Theories
 Howard Gardner argues for
several human intellectual
capacities in his theory of
multiple intelligences









Linguistic
Musical
Logical (mathematical)
Bodily-kinesthetic
Spatial-visual
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
(see handout)
Gardner 2 mins
Abilities Theories
 J. P. Guilford suggest a
cubic model of the
structure of intelligence
(maybe up to 150
separate cognitive
abilities)

Three categories
Operations
 Contents
 Products

All of these theories have used
the idea of factor analysis.
WHAT IS FACTOR
ANALYSIS?
ADD:
PSYCHOMETRICS
Cognitive Theories
 Look at cognitive process
as the key to intelligence
 Reaction time may be the
measure of intelligence
 Processes may include
short term memory,
retrieval of long term
memory or speed in which
information is scanned and
encoded
 Our language suggest this
idea with terms such as
“quick witted” or “slow”
Cognitive Theories
 Philip Vernon (1991)
argues that biological
indexes of CNS can
provide a direct measure
of intelligence
 Using PET scan to
measure metabolic rate
during problem solving,
more intelligent people
use less energy than less
intelligent people for
specific tasks
Contextual Theories
 Previous theories (ability
and cognitive) assume to
apply universally
 Same measure could be
used for all people of all
cultures
 That may not be true.
Contextual Theories
 Robert Sternberg (1985)
Triarchic (three part)
Theory identifies three
major dimensions of
intelligence




Contextual
Experiential
Componential
These dimensions of
intelligence converge to
indicate individual
differences in intelligence.
Assessment and Extremes of Intelligence
 Assessments of
Intelligence
 Extremes in Intelligence
Assessment of Intelligence
 Individual- administered
 Group Tests- mass
in a one-to-one situation
 Used for diagnostic
purposes as in evaluating
individuals particularly
for mental retardation
and giftedness
testing as developed
during WWI
 Sample questions
 Used today in the
military and in
educational settings
Individual Assessments
 Stanford – Binet
Intelligence Scale


1904 Alfred Binet studied
procedures to identify the
mentally retarded children
in Parisian schools
Individual’s score was
expressed in terms of
mental age as compared to
chronological age
 Lewis Terman (1916) of
Stanford University
translated and revised
Binet’s scales for use in
the US
 Became know as the
Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale
 Measures performance in
15 areas
 The Vexing Legacy of
Lewis Terman
 Eugenics
 William Stern calculated
 A 12 year-old child scores
a formula for an
intelligence quotient or
IQ
IQ= MA divided by CA x
100
a mental age of 15.
 The child’s IQ is _____.
 A 12 year-old child scores
a mental age of 10.
 The child’s IQ is _____.
Answers
 A 12 year-old child scores
a mental age of 15.
 15 divided by 12=
 The child’s IQ is 125.
 A 12 year-old child scores
a mental age of 10.
 10 divided by 12=
 The child’s IQ is 83.
Assessment
 David Wechsler
 Wechsler Intelligence
Scales
 Three separate test for
different age groups



WPPSI-R (4-6)
WISC –III (6 1/2-16)
WAIS – R (adults)
 The Wechsler Scales are
the most used individual
intelligence test
Newer IQ Tests?
 Woodcock-Johnson Tests
 Later developments:
for Cognitive Abilities (late
1970s)
 Alan and Nadeen Kaufman
publish the Kaufman
Assessment Battery for
Children (early 1980s)
 Differential Abilities Scales
 Jack Naglieri developed
Cognitive Assessment
System
 Emotional Intelligence
(Daniel Goleman)
 Multiple Intelligences
(Howard Gardner)
 Triarchic Theory (Robert
Sternberg)

Standard Deviation and IQ
 Score achieved on an intelligence test as interpreted
in terms of the normal distribution
 Mean is 100
The Flynn Effect
 In his study of IQ test scores for different
populations over the past 60 years, James R. Flynn
discovered that IQ scores increased from one
generation to the next for all of the countries for
which data existed (Flynn, 1994)
 This phenomena has been called the “Flynn Effect”
 Why do you think this effect has occurred?
 Reference: Human Intelligence: The Flynn Effect
 http://www.intelltheory.com
 See this website for a wealth of information on this
and other topics
Group Tests
G
 ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational
Aptitude Battery)
 CTMM (California Test of Mental
Maturity)
 Achievement vs. Aptitude
 Speed vs. Power
The Rationale
 The reason for developing IQ tests was to identify
children who needed special education assistance
 In 1978, a law went into effect that modified the way
public schools treat children with mental
retardation.
Mental Retardation
 As defined by the American Association on Mental
Retardation (AAMR)
 Deficits in intellectual development that are partly
assessed by intelligence tests
 Characterized by significantly sub average
intellectual functioning
 Limitations in adaptive skills (communication, selfcare, health, safety)
Origins of Mental Retardation
 Organic conditions
 Over 350 organic syndromes are know to cause mental
retardation
PKU (metabolic disorder)
 Hydrocephaly (excessive fluid in skull)
 Down Syndrome

 Cases of unknown origin
 May be due to unfavorable environmental conditions

Poverty, unstable home life, parental neglect
Levels of Retardation
 Mild
IQ 51-70
 Moderate IQ 35-50
 Severe
IQ 20-35
 Profound IQ below 20
 85% skills to 6th grade,
adults may be self
supporting with
assistance
 10% skills to 2nd grade,
adults may contribute to
support if sheltered
 3-4% may learn to talk
and perform simple work
tasks
 1-2% require constant
aid and supervision
Giftedness
 Top 3-5%
 IQ above 180 (profoundly gifted)
 IQ of 130-150 (moderately gifted)
 May be just regular folks just like you and me
 Achievements in life?
 Not all gifted people go on to do great things
 Maybe it is a combination of IQ, motivation and creativity
Giftedness
 Terman and his Termites
 Reading provided from Stanford University